UNIVERSITY CENTER -- The Cardinal Softball team posted a Friday split with Davenport University, dropping the opener by a 4-0 score before bouncing back for an 8-2 win in the nightcap at the SVSU Softball Complex.
The split puts Saginaw Valley at 17-15 overall and 8-6 in the GLIAC for the 2018 campaign while the Panthers are now 26-15 and 11-9 in league play.
Game 1
The Panthers got out to a 1-0 lead in the 1st on an RBI double to get the scoring started.
No runs would come from either side from there until the 6th inning when Davenport tacked-on another pair to make the score 3-0 in its favor. The visitors added a solo home run in the top of the 7th, putting the lead at 4-0.
Saginaw Valley couldn't get anything to materialize offensively in the first game and would be held scoreless, falling by that same 4-0 margin.
The Cardinals managed five hits in the opener, getting one-apiece from Lauren Bachert, Danielle Hamilton, Meredith Rousse, Aubree Mouthaan and Evy Lobdell. Hamilton had the only extra-base hit with a double.
Anna Conard (9-5) took the loss in the circle in 6.0 innings of work. She allowed three runs on nine hits, striking-out three and walking none.
Game 2
The visitors grabbed an early 1-0 lead for the second straight game, scoring a single run in the top of the 2nd.
SV responded with a trio of runs in the home half of the inning, using a two-RBI single from Julia Miller to score Becky Corbett and Mouthaan. Bachert followed a few batters later, lacing an RBI single to push pinch-runner Alexis Cerven across for the third run.
Two more runs came SVSU's way in the bottom of the 3rd, extending the lead out to 5-1. Corbett ripped a two-out, RBI single that plated Rousse and then Lobdell added an RBI double that scored Corbett.
After the Panthers added a run in the top of the 5th to make the score 5-2, SVSU added one of its own to make the count 6-2. Another RBI from Lobdell, this time on a single, would score Mouthaan for the sixth run.
The bottom of the 6th saw the final scoring of the contest. Rousses belted a two-run home run, scoring Maddy Burgess who had singled to lead-off the inning. That put the score at 8-2, which would prove to be the final.
The Cardinal offense doubled its hit production in game two, registering 10 base hits. Two of those came off the bat of Lobdell, including a double and two RBI. Rousse had the two-run home run with a pair of runs scored and a stolen base. Miller had an RBI base hit. Bachert and Corbett added hits and an RBI as well.
Mikayla Alexandrou (6-6) worked a complete game for the victory pitching. She allowed just two runs on four hits, posting four strikeouts with a single walk.
Up Next...
The Cardinals travel to play at Ferris State University on Saturday (4/21) for the second of six straight game days. SVSU swept the Bulldogs earlier this season, claiming wins of 7-6 and 8-4 on March 31. First pitch is set for 1:00 p.m. in Big Rapids.
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